India’s top court said the entry of protesting farmers into the capital city of New Delhi on Republic Day to be decided by the police as the matter is related to law and order.
The court’s direction came on Monday in a petition seeking an injunction against the proposed tractor rally by protesting farmers on January 26.
“Who should be allowed and the number of people to enter are all matters of law and order to be decided by the police. We are not the first authority,’’ the apex court said.
Protesting farmer unions have stated they would be holding a tractor rally on the country’s Republic Day (Jan. 26) in the Indian capital and vowed to continue their strike against federal government’s three contentious farm laws.
Farmer leaders say the rally, in which 1,000 tractors will participate, will be peaceful and they would not interrupt the day’s big parade at Rajpath.
“The parade will be very peaceful. There will be no disruption of the Republic Day parade. The farmers will put up the national flag on their tractors,’’Yogendra Yadav, a farmer union leader said during a press conference.
The stalemate between protesting farmers and the Indian government continues as the ninth round of talks last week again failed to break the impasse.
The fresh round of talks between the two is scheduled to be held on Tuesday.
Thousands of farmers have been protesting since Nov. 26 last year in and around New Delhi, occupying roads and demanding the withdrawal of three contentious farm laws.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been strongly defending the three laws, ever since the protest broke out.(Xinhua/NAN)
